Great Wall Network Jiyun client news reporter Guo Xindan Zhang Xiaoyu Zeng Siyu
Take-off, take-off, big slalom, single board, double board, freestyle... This group of lifelike clay sculptures is the theme clay sculpture of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics designed and produced by Ma Ailin, the representative inheritor of the Jingxin clay sculpture of Shijiazhuang Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In anticipation of the upcoming 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Ma Ailin used a pair of skillful hands to passionately collide intangible cultural heritage art and ice and snow Olympics to support the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
"This clay sculpture is called 'Snowboarding', and the athlete's posture is like surfing on the sea, and the dynamic and aesthetic sense is immediately revealed." On January 17, in the studio of Ma Ailin in Jingxing County, Shijiazhuang City, Ma Ailin sat on the case and told reporters about her essentials of making clay people while making Olympic-themed clay sculptures.
Pinch a lump of mud, repeatedly pull in the hand, rub it into an oval shape in the palm of your hand, as the athlete's body, twist several grains of soybean-sized soil, point it on the head, press out the eyes and nose with your fingers, and then take a small grain of soil and place it on the top of the head, trimming the ski hat... In just ten minutes, a clay sculpture was formed in Ma Ailin's hands.
Clay sculpture of the ice pier of the mascot of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Great Wall Network Jiyun client Zhang Xiaoyu photo
Ma Ailin is a native of Jingxing, Shijiazhuang City, who has loved clay sculpture since childhood, and often uses clay and soft pottery to create clay sculpture works that reflect local customs and customs. In 2010, she was named the inheritor of the municipal intangible cultural heritage clay sculpture, and soon became the representative inheritor of the Jingxing clay sculpture of the intangible cultural heritage project in Hebei Province. After Beijing and Zhangjiakou successfully bid for the Winter Olympics, Ma Ailin decided to create clay sculptures with the theme of ice and snow sports.
In order to find creative inspiration and make the works more exquisite, Ma Ailin watched a large number of videos and pictures on the Internet, carefully observed the posture and expression of the ice and snow athletes when exercising, and accumulated a lot of materials.
As the footsteps of the Winter Olympics are getting closer and closer, Ma Ailin began to create clay sculptures on the theme of the Winter Olympics, with the early ideas and material selection, she created ten groups of works in a row to cheer for the Olympic athletes, and also let everyone feel the charm of the Winter Olympics and express the expectations and blessings of a non-hereditary heir to the Winter Olympics.
"Compared with traditional clay sculptures, how to show the dynamic and galloping sense of ice and snow athletes is a major problem in production." Ma Ailin said that it is not easy to create a group of clay sculptures, from kneading mud, making blanks, and then through more than ten steps such as kneading and pulling. Each production step must strive for excellence in order to finally present a satisfactory work. Ma Ailin completed this set of works after many attempts to express his expectations and blessings for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
Ma Ailin produces clay sculptures about the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Great Wall Network Jiyun client Zhang Xiaoyu photo
"Snowboarding", "Freestyle Skiing", "Skiing", "Ice Piers and Snow Melting"... Every work created by Ma Ailin is exquisite, especially the clay sculptures of ice and snow athletes, the characters are delicate and vivid, full of movement, and exquisite portraits, showing the heroic posture of Olympic athletes on the field!
Once the Winter Olympics theme clay sculpture was launched, it received a lot of praise in the society. Supermarkets, communities, etc. often invite Ma Ailin to do on-site demonstrations and teaching. As a inheritor of intangible cultural heritage, Ma Ailin actively fulfills the obligations of the inheritors, strives to expand the scope of inheritance, and teaches clay sculpture techniques regardless of age and reservation.
"I hope that more people can feel the charm of the Winter Olympics through traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage art, let more people understand clay sculptures, inherit clay sculptures, and hope that the Winter Olympics at the 'doorstep' can be successfully held." Ma Ailin said.